Memory Loss
by Lycathanna
Summary: [chapter 2 up] Our dear elf has had a nasty accedent and wakes up in a very strange place...what's he to do??
1. Chapter 1

Memory Loss

by Slaede

Author's Note: This idea came to me really strangely. I never thought of anything like this before :) I hope you enjoy (I can't say too much about it or I'll spoil the story for everyone)

Disclaimer: any characters that I didn't make up contained within, and the places that I didn't make up are copyright the Tolkien family :) my creations are, of course, mine!!

One

Firstly, he noticed the warmth, not a damp, sticky warmth, but a wholesome, comforting warmth. He smelt burning embers and smeltthe cooking meat. He heard the fire hiss as molten animal fat dripped from an unseen spit. He heard the twittering of small birds from a concentrated area to his left, and felt a warmth upon his face. His eyes drifted open slowly, taking in his surroundings, with a bit of surprise. He was alarmed to see that the objects and things around him seemed blurry and under-defined, as though he were looking through water, and no attempt of blinking or squinting seemed to clear them, though the squinting did seem to strain something at his temple, and when he raised a hand, it was intercepted by thick cloth. He looked around once more in the hopes of recognizing something, but was met merely by unfamiliar surroundings.

Helay in a bed, straw by the feel of it, and was blanketed by a homespun quilt of various colors. He turned his head toward the windom to his left and what he saw beyond were pine and fir trees making up what seemed to be forest, and he could see the thatched roof of a nearby cottage. *I'm in some sort of homestead, it would seem* he thought. His vision was limited by the edges of the windom, so he turned his attention back to the room he was in, instead. It seemed to be a home of two room design, seeing as he was on a bed at the wall, and a cooking fire burned on the opposing one. There was a lounging chair near the fire, which somehow seemed a bit out of place in a room so sparseof comfort. the door into the next room was on the same wall, and the skin of a rather large bear was draped on the floor, the head still intact.

He jumped slightly as an unseen door on the wall behind his pillowed head opened quietly, allowing warm sun to leak in through the entry and flow upon the floor near his bed. Within the beam of light was the shadow of what appeared to be a person. They turned carefully into the doorway and closed it quietly behind them, then came into view. She was tall, and muscular, with long rippling silver hair tied at the base of her neck with a leather thong. She was wearing a peasant's dress, and he could see the ties of an apron bowed at her curving waist. For she was, indeed, a curvy woman, but not in the 'old Innkeeper's Wife' sort of way, she simple was, as he thought, a LOT of woman. The woman turned to the fire, and took down from a rack he now noticed, a small pot and filled it with water from the bucket she had brought in. She then hung the filled pot in the fire to heat.

The woman then turned toward him and stopped as she looked upon his face. Her eyebrows arched slightly in an expression of slight surprise, then a smile spread slowly across her stern featured face. "Ahla tor galnard!" she said, with a relieved sound to her voice.

He noted she had a deep, but soothing voice, and also noticed her pointed ears, although he didn't have the vaguest idea what she had said. 

After a moment, as the woman took note of his confused expression, she smiled wider. 

"Oh, you poor dear," she said, her voice was strangely accented, and seemed to take the "r's" rather hard. "You must not speak Lessien. I said, 'you are awake."

He looked relieved to see the woman knew a language he also spoke. *Lessien,* he thought. *I've never heard of THAT language before.* But he soon found himself hard-pressed to find the name of a language he HAD heard before. That disturbed him. However, he smiled at the woman despite this and made to nod, as seemed proper, but there was a sudden pain in his right temple, and the world lurched.

The woman rushed to his bedside as he groaned and moved his hand to his head again. 

"Easy, there." The woman said. "You've taken quite a blow. In fact, you've been out for nearly two weeks. I thought you'd fallen to the Sleep." She had reached up and was running her long, slender fingers over his hair. The sensation seemed familiar, but he couldn't place from where to save his life. He knew though, that it should be remembered. This disturbed him farther.

"What's your name, Dear?" She asked as she made him comfortable again.

For the first time, it occured to him that he didn't rightly know. He began to think about how he could have gotten here, since here obviously wasn't where he was supposed to be. He didn't speak the language of these elves, if there were elves, for they didn't look like the eldar or the sindar. In fact, it was possible that they were half elven. Sindarin, that's the language he adopted his accent from, for he knew he had an accent when he spoke the Westron...Westron, that's what the woman was using. The woman, she expected a reply.

He swiveled his eyes toward her, and a sharp pain of a rising headache lanced behind them, making him wince. "I'm afraid," he began, looking rather confused. "I don't rightly know...my name, that is." His eyes moved down to once again reguard his comforter. He felt the woman's hand on his shoulder. She had a surprisingly strong grasp.

"It's not uncommon for someone to lose part of themselves with a blow to the head, young one." She said, a comforting sound swirled through her words, and made the prospect of 'losing parts of himself' seem less difficult to deal with. "It will all come back soon enough. For now, let's find something to call you, shall we? We can't very well call you 'hey you' all the time, now can we?" The smile that graced her face was jesting, and it lightened his heart to know that everything would be alright. "Now," she said, standing, and moving with the grace of a large cat, she made her way to the nook formed by the end of his bed and a nearby table and pulled from it a shining, black wood bow. 

He was flooded with the simple knowledge that he was as deadly with that weapon as any viper with their venom, and it was an extention of his person so vital, that he was astonished he hadn't missed it beforehand. 

The woman held it high so that he might get a better look. "Is this familiar to you?" she asked, and at his slight nod, she continued. It is the bow of a very skilled archer, for it is as near perfect a bow as we have ever come across, and seeing that is yours, and it and the quiver were all we found near you, I can deduce that you were the skilled archer who wielded this weapon. Thus, we shall call you archer, for you befit the title," she proclaimed, and placed the bow back to its resting place in the nook at the foot of the bed. She then returned to Archer's beside. "Now, Archer, you must rest, for you are not close to healing and thus you have much to do. You should not hunger just yet. Sleep well, Archer," she rose then, and made for the door opposite his bed.

"Wait," he said to her backside, and she stopped, turning to reguard him. "What am I to call you, healer?"

She smiled at him. "I am called Aslin, Archer. Now sleep."

He decided to obey, and as his eyes were closing, the vistage of a radiant maiden crossed his vision, and he wonder if she had been but a part of his forming dream, or the reality he was slipping from.

*********

So, what do you think so far? Not bad for an opener, huh??? So, let me know, ok??? REVIEW!!! (this is my first published fic, but I don't mind flames..Ithink they're funny!) 

  



	2. Chapter 2

Memory Loss

by Slaede

Author's Note: This idea came to me really strangely. I never thought of anything like this before :) I hope you enjoy (I can't say too much about it or I'll spoil the story for everyone)

Disclaimer: any characters that I didn't make up contained within, and the places that I didn't make up are copyright the Tolkien family :) my creations are, of course, mine!!

Part 2

Archer awoke sometime later, or at least it seemed like it, to the same smell of cooking meat and felt a gentle tickle in his stomach that told him he was craving some of it. He opened his eyes slowly, noticing that his vision was a lot clearer than it had been, and also that there was no lancing pain behind his eyes. He raised his head gingerly, testing it's stability. Finding he was much less dizzy than during his last waking moment, he moved to support himself on his elbows, giving him a better view of the room. The first think he noticed was that it was a bit larger than he had thought, and not nearly as scarcely decorated as he remembered. There were ornaments and filigrees upon the walls, and the door handles were ornate, with deep-set carving, as were the doors themselves. There was a bookcase on the wall behind him, and the words along the book's spines were in a language Archer didn't comprehend.

As he was reintroducing himself to his surroundings, the front door opened and in walked Aslin, carrying what appeared to be two loaves of bread and a satchel of some sort. She smiled at him when she saw him.

"Ah, Archer," she said, making you way toward the hearth to drop her goods. "It's good to see you're awake." She then came to sit at a stool that he now noticed beside his bed, and began to unravel the thick bandage there. "You were quick to heal, young one." She said as her unraveling neared it's end. She poured over his wound, now nearly just a spiderweb scar that splayed from his temple, and smiled. "You heal very quickly indeed." Then she turned her eyes to meet his. "Have you remembered anything?" she asked quizzically.

Archer shook his head, an ability he was glad to see he had gained. "Unfortunately not. though have remembered the feel of hunger." He smiled jestingly.

Aslin chuckled gently. "Then by all means, archer, let me feed you." She moved back to her purchased goods and opened the satchel. From his angle, he noticed it contained an amalgam of different smaller pouches. She reached for one, paused, returned it to the satchel, and grabbed another. She raised it to her nose and seemed to sniff. She then seemed satisfied, and moved to the fire, over which was roasting a very delicious looking fowl. Aslin then opened the small pouch and poured a brownish power from it into her palm. She then sprinkled the powder of the bird, and muttered something almost inaudible. he noticed when stray grains of powder hit the first, the sparks were bluish in color.

After her ritual, Aslin carefully removed the spit on which the bird roasted and removed it to a plate. She retrieved a knife and two-pronged fork from the satchel she had entered with, and brought the finished meal to his bedside. 

Archer looked apprehensibly at the offered meat. "What have you done to it?"

Aslin smiled. "It is imbued."

"imbued?"

She nodded. "Yes archer. You are in need of many energies and powers from the earth that our quail friend is unable to supply. I have made him capable if providing this nourishment for you." She offered the plate again. "Now eat."

Archer took the offered plate. The roasted quail smelled wonderful, but something inside him warned him against trusting imbued food. His brow crinkled in a bit of confusion and curiosity and he looked up to her again. "Who are you, and what is this place?"

Aslin reached under the bed, pulled out a three-legged stool, and sat down, then her eyes met Archer's. She smiled. "I am a Healer. As for this place, it is Duchlar, the capital city of Lessien."

She had spoken the world 'healer' as though it were a race, much like 'elf'. that was strange and he intended to inquire, but first he would tackle this confusion of location.

"I do not know this Lessien that you speak of." He said, and took a bite of quail.

"I would not expect you to, child. You are not of this land." Her eyes drifted over him as though taking him in for the first time, then she met his gaze again. "You are tall, as are our people, and you possess the slender features and pointed ears that mark our race, but the similarities stop there. You have lain on this bed," she patted the straw mattress on which he lie, "for nye on fifteen days and there is not so much as stubble grown upon your cheeks."

"Of course not!" he said, sounds very offended. "I am not of the race of men."

"Nor are you of the southern elves." The voice came from the front entry. Both heads turned toward the sound. Aslin smiled lovingly, and Archer was dumb struck. He had never seen a woman as beautiful and majestic as this. Her hair was the color of matured wheat, her eyes were depth less emeralds, her skin was ivory, her features where statuesque. "Hello, Archer."

He had no words. The goddess had spoken. He simply bowed his head to her knowing he looked the fool for doing so, but wanting a chance to impress none the less.

She swept in, as though she needed no effort to propel herself, came over to Aslin, and kissed her lightly on the check. "Good even, Mama." and the she turned into the next room, shutting the door behind her.

Aslin watched after her, then back to Archer. "My daughter, Slaede. She is rather striking, isn't she?"

Archer pulled his eyes away from the door that had stolen the angel and nodded. "Y-yes, she is ... she is a jewel to look upon."

Aslin smiled and stood. "Eat well, Archer. You will need your strength." She moved off and busied herself. Archer returned to his plate, wondering how he would ever prod himself to words around this most beatific of women. He had no answer for himself.

**********************

*Duchlar is pronouced doochlar (lar rhymed with far) *Lessien is less e in

And now, review responses!!

*faey wolf star: Thank you, Faey! I'm glad you like it soo much! here's the second part!

*Concetta: glad you like it, and I didn't really get up the second part very fast, but I did get it up! and No, it's poor Archer. don't spoil it for everyone! SHH *wink wink*

*Alorae: glad you liked it. and you've just read more!! :)

*Moon Maiden: glad you like it so far. I hope your waiting restlessly didn't affect your sleep! :)

  



End file.
